Obama introduces Iran measure (says President doesn't have authority to use force against Iran)

WASHINGTON - Democrat Barack Obama introduced a Senate resolution late Thursday that says President Bush does not have authority to use military force against Iran, the latest move in a debate with presidential rival Hillary Rodham Clinton about how to respond to that country's nuclear ambitions.

Clinton's campaign accused Obama of playing politics instead of taking a leadership role from the outset.

Obama spokesman Bill Burton said the Illinois senator drafted the measure in an effort to "nullify the vote the Senate took to give the president the benefit of the doubt on Iran."

Burton was referring to an amendment sponsored by Sens. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., and Joe Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut, that passed 76-22 on Sept. 26 and designates Iran's Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization.

Clinton was the only Senate Democrat running for president to support the measure, and her rivals have argued that Bush could use it to justify war with Iran. Clinton insists her vote would not support military strikes and instead was a vote for stepped-up diplomacy.

Last week, the Bush administration declared the Revolutionary Guard a proliferator of weapons of mass destruction and announced new sanctions meant to isolate Iran. The Iranian government contends its nuclear program is aimed only toward providing nuclear power.

Clinton and 29 other senators wrote to Bush Thursday to tell him he has no congressional authority for war with Iran.

The four Democratic senators running for the White House split over whether to sign the letter. Chris Dodd of Connecticut added his support, while Obama and Joe Biden of Delaware declined.

The letter accuses Bush of "provocative statements and actions stemming from your administration with respect to possible U.S. military action in Iran."

"We wish to emphasize that no congressional authority exists for unilateral military action against Iran," it says. That includes the Kyl-Lieberman amendment, the letter says.

Obama missed the vote on the amendment because he was campaigning. Clinton spokesman Phil Singer said if Obama was so concerned about the amendment, he should have been there to vote against it. Singer said Obama also should have signed Webb's letter and co-sponsored two other pieces of legislation that reaffirm the president cannot use force against Iran without congressional approval.

"It's unfortunate that (Senator) Obama is abandoning the politics of hope in favor of the kind of political games he is so critical of in his book," Singer said. He pointed to a passage in "The Audacity of Hope" where Obama is critical of the tendency to "exaggerate or demonize, oversimplify or overstate our case."

Said Obama spokesman Bill Burton: "With her vote for the war in Iraq and her vote for the Kyl-Lieberman amendment, Hillary Clinton has now given George Bush the benefit of the doubt not once, but twice. While she's trying her best to change her position on yet another critical issue facing our country, Senator Obama knows that it takes legislation, not letters, to undo the vote that she cast."

His resolution says any offensive military action against Iran must be explicitly authorized by Congress, and seeks to clarify that nothing approved so far provides that authority.

Biden spokeswoman Elizabeth Alexander said Biden believes the amendment could be used to justify military action.

"He has also made clear many times his view that the president lacks the authority to use force against Iran absent authorization from Congress," she said. "He didn't need to clarify that position. He's been clear from the start."

Even though Dodd shares that view, he signed the letter because "we felt that it was necessary to make it clear that this administration cannot take military action against Iran without the express authorization of Congress," said Dodd spokesman Hari Sevugan.

Weird, I always thought the Presient had the right to fight all aggressors. Just to make it official, the Congress decided to weigh in with their own resolutions and law.

Ah yes, here it is ... it's always in the fine print. First this -- Joint Resolution to Authorize the Use of United States Armed Forces Against Iraq

Whereas the President and Congress are determined to continue to take all appropriate actions against international terrorists and terrorist organizations, including those nations, organizations or persons who planned, authorized, committed or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such persons or organizations;
Whereas the President has authority under the Constitution to take action in order to deter and prevent acts of international terrorism against the United States, as Congress recognized in the joint resolution on Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public Law 107-40); and
Whereas it is in the national security of the United States to restore international peace and security to the Persian Gulf region;
Now, therefore, be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

And then we have Public Law 107-40 [S. J. RES. 23]

That the President is authorized to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons, in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by such nations, organizations or persons.

Look here and here in case Obama can't find his copy. I suppose Iran could decide to disgourge the terrorist hiding there, but the sticky problem of Iran's President saying Iran will destroy the USA still keeps coming up.

Edwards needs to read more and talk less.

A question the little fella would not know anything about. Is Obamas’ Islamic background as a child a problem for our Islamic relations in or out of the country? This will add a dimension to Obamas’ background...http://www.freedomsenemies.com/_more/obama.htm
This is a blog. A headline for the blog which claims Muslims consider him still Muslim...’Barack Hussein Obama, an African-American who has not shared the black American experience, was a Muslim for 27 years (according to Islam, he still is) and is a master at shaping his own mythology.’
He is a national security risk in high office. The Dems do not recognize the risk.

Here is a comment with an excerpt from the site above that relates to Obama as a possible Pres. in view of his Islamic past as a child, young man and his desire to be US President before converting to Christianity. There is a problem with Obama being an apostate Muslim as viewed by Muslims and being Pres. of the US. If Pres. of the US, overtures will be made for him to convert back to Islam or grant special consideration to Islam in its stead in view of his childhood status. The Muslim Brotherhoods’ CAIR will be right up front. Very dangerous for US. According to Islam ‘once a Muslim, always a Muslim’ with death if reconversion is not accomplished if they get their hands on the converted person. In Islam, escape is not possible..an escapee is an apostate, and his condition is punishable by death according to and practiced by the implementers of Sharia law. Obama, a US citizen born in Hawaii, a current professed and currently practicing Christian, is an apostate under Islamic Sharia law, and if President, understandably might be under pressure from Islam for undue considerations...this is a complete irresponsibility of the Dim party who legitimized an Islamic Congressmen who absurdly swore loyalty to the US on Thos. Jeffersons’Koran (Ellison). Will Muslims consider him apostate? Potentially only if he get into higher office. No such demand exists presently. Would some Pak Imam issue a fatwa on him if he refused to convert on demand back to Islam? Spare us. A foolish worry? I do not think so. You decide.

From the link above: Barack Obama went by the name Barry Soetoro as a child in Indonesia...here is the excerp beginning with 1968.

1968

The “An American Expat in Southeast Asia” blog reports that Obama’s Indonesian schooling began when he was entered into the Roman Catholic, Franciscus Assisi Primary School on January 1, 1968 and sat in class 1B. He was registered under the name Barry Soetoro, serial number 203. School documents listed Barry Soetoro as an Indonesian citizen and his religion was listed as Islam.

Catholic schools accept non-Catholics worldwide. Non-Catholic students are typically excused from religious instruction and ceremony.

Citizen of Indonesia?

1969

Obama enters Class 2 of the Assisi Primary School.

1970

Obama enters Class 3 of the Assisi Primary School.

1971

Obama’s family moves from H Ramir Street to Dempo Street.

1971

Obama enters the Besuki Primary School, a government school. He was enrolled as Barry Soetoro, Muslim.

Iis Darmawan, 63, Obama’s teacher, remembers him as an exceptionally tall and curly haired child who quickly picked up the local language and had sharp math skills. “He wrote an essay titled, ‘I Want To Become President,’” the teacher said.

Obama’s sister Maya, has also said, “There was always a joke between my mom and Barack that he would be the first black president.”
Six or seven and he wants to be president?

Watch out for these guys.

1971

All Indonesian students are required to study religion at school and a young Barry Soetoro, being a Muslim, would have been required to study Islam daily in school.

He would have been taught to read and write Arabic, to recite his prayers properly, to read and recite from the Quran and to study the laws of Islam.

In his autobiography, “Dreams From My Father,” Obama mentions studying the Quran and describes the public school as “a Muslim school.”
Obama no longer (2007) denies he was a Muslim. He now says he wasn’t a “practicing Muslim”

1971

According to Tine Hahiyary, one of Obama’s teachers and the principal from 1971 throuh 1989, Barry actively took part in the Islamic religious lessons during his time at the school. His teacher was named Maimunah and she lived in the Puncak area, the Cianjur Regency.

“I remembered that he had studied “menjaji” (recitation of the Quran)” Tine said.

Comments made in 2007

1972

Classmate Rony Amiris describes young Barry as enjoying playing football and marbles and of being a very devout Muslim. Amir said, “Barry was previously quite religious in Islam. His birth father, Barack Hussein Obama was a Muslim economist from Kenya ... all of the relatives of Barry’s father were very devout Muslims”

“We previously often asked him to the prayer room close to the house. If he was wearing a sarong he looked funny,” said Rony.

Amiris now the manager of the Bank Mandiri, Jakarta, recently said, “Barry was previously quite religious in Islam. His birth father, Barack Hussein Obama was a Muslim economist from Kenya. Before marrying Ann Dunham, Hussein Obama was married to a woman from Kenya who had seven children. All the relatives of Barry’s father were very devout Muslims”

Rony extrapolates further, that Obama at one point had to change his religion if he ever intended later to run for the office of President of the United States because America would never elect a Muslim to the be President of the United States.

Comments made in 2007

1972

Emirsyah Satar, CEO of Garuda Indonesia, was quoted as saying, “He (Obama) was often in the prayer room wearing a ‘sarong’, at that time.”

“He was quite religious in Islam but only after marrying Michelle, he changed his religion.”

Comments made in 2007

1973

Upon Dunham’s divorce from Lolo she sent 10-year-old Barack to live with her parents in Honolulu, while she and his half-sister stayed in Indonesia.

Here is the Link from which the former was exerpted: http://www.freedomsenemies.com/_more/obama.htm

Obama has stated a empathy for the cause of Hamas in the past two years publicly, and, now says he will ‘talk’ with Iran..do I trust such a proposal at this time? No.Is his Islamic background Sunni or Shiite? It is relevant to those in Islam who would befriend him or attack him politically or otherwise. His middle name is Hussein. We hear Hilary Rodham Clinton all the time...Barack Hussein Obama will not appear until after the election. He is too entwined by history, registered Islamic youthful education and identification to be safely elected as an official of the US. Could he convert, if acclaimed apostate, to ‘save’ his life from death sentence after election to the office of the Pres. or VP? Anyone in the US has the right to choose any religion one wishes. A conversion during a Presidency would be disruptive. A critical issue is avoided by media, govt. and parties....and, Islam is in a world war with the US, Europe, EVERYNATION not under Sharia Law, and quite independently of whether the US is in the Middle East or not. Islam is feeling its oats as in no way since the Gates of Vienna. Is it a good idea to invite undue potential Islamic political overture to the White House at this time? Nothing wrong with him following his dream. It is ill-advised to not ‘vet’ our candidates more closely.

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